Professional Pilot, February 2018

Answers to TC 2 18 questions 1 a Procedural note 1 in the Briefing Strip states that the heliport is an area of numerous lighted and unlighted obstructions Structure elevations cannot be relied on to avoid obstructions because higher uncharted obstructions might exist An arrow indicates the highest charted terrain point or obstacle in this case a man made obstacle with a height of 1875 ft MSL Minimum safe sector altitudes MSAs are for emergency use and normally provide 1000 ft clearance over obstructions within a 25 nm radius of the indicated facility 2 c According to the AIM 1 1 19 if RAIM is not available prior to beginning the approach use another type of approach system When flying an approach with non WAAS GPS equipment the receiver performs a RAIM prediction at least 2 nm prior to the FAF If the receiver does not sequence into approach mode or indicates RAIM failure prior to the FAF do not descend to the DA or MDA proceed to the MAP perform the missed approach and contact ATC If the GPS equipment displays a RAIM failure after the FAF initiate a climb and perform the missed approach 3 a c e Copter Point in space PinS approaches which involve a VFR segment between the MAP and the landing area are used at locations where the MAP is more than 2 sm from the landing site the path from the MAP to the landing site has obstructions that require avoidance actions or the flightpath requires turns greater than 30 Each of these criteria applies to this approach 4 b PinS approaches are restricted to helicopters with a maximum V MINI of 70 KIAS and an IFR approach angle that enables them to meet the final approach angle descent gradient According to the FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook final approach angles descent gradients for public approach procedures can be as high as 75 795 ft nm At 70 KIAS no wind this equates to a descent rate of 925 ft min Helicopters with a V MINI of 70 KIAS might have inadequate control margins to fly an approach with the maximum allowable angle descent gradient or minimum allowable deceleration distance from the MAP to the heliport 5 b Procedural note 3 states DME DME RNP 030 not authorized Procedural note 4 indicates that airspeed must be limited to 70 kts only during the final and missed approach segments According to Ballflag note 1 the procedure is not authorized for arrivals on SHB VOR airway radials R 231 clockwise through R 312 which does not include the 030 radial This restriction is typically due to a TERPS requirement that prohibits turns of more than 120 degrees The profile view shows an initial approach segment from the IAF of SHB VOR to LEEBR IF at a minimum altitude of 2600 ft MSL 6 a According to the FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook the visibility is limited to no lower than that published in the procedure until canceling IFR 7 a c Procedural note 5 indicates proceed VFR from OPNIC or conduct the specified missed approach The FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook states that visual contact with the landing site is not required however prior to the MAP the pilot must determine if the flight visibility meets the basic VFR minimums required by the airspace class operating rule and or OpSpecs whichever is higher The visibility must be no lower than that published in the procedure until canceling IFR If VFR minimums do not exist the missed approach must be performed 8 a b Procedural note 4 states limit final and missed approach airspeed to 70 KIAS The MAP of OPNIC is a fly over waypoint as indicated by the waypoint symbol in a circle The landing minimums section indicates no change in minimums if the ODALS is inoperative and an MDA of 1340 ft MSL with the local altimeter setting 9 a The plan and profile views show a distance of 42 nm and a track of 336 to the heliport Ballflag note 2 indicates that the MAP surface elevation at OPNIC is 824 ft MSL which is 92 ft higher than the heliport elevation of 732 ft MSL on the profile view According to the FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook the pilot must contact ATC upon reaching the MAP or as soon as practical after that and advise whether performing the missed approach or canceling IFR and proceeding VFR According the AIM 10 1 3 IFR obstruction clearance areas are not applied to the VFR segment between the MAP and the landing site obstacle terrain avoidance is the pilots responsibility 10 a b d Procedural note 4 indicates that final and missed approach airspeeds are limited to 70 kts A minimum climb gradient of at least 400 ft nm is required unless a higher gradient is published The copter 20 1 obstacle clearance surface OCS requires a 400 ft nm climb gradient to allow a required obstacle clearance ROC of 96 ft nm for each nm of flightpath The missed approach instructions and icons indicate a climb to 1500 ft MSL prior to a climbing right turn to 3000 ft MSL direct to VHP VOR

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